Category: Travel

Or, the complete guide to tasting strangers’ shoes… and getting away with it

Listen, toddlers, mastering the art of a fun flight is a careful balancing act. You must find that level of fun that teeters just on the edge of tipping your mom’s (and the flight crew’s) tolerance into the no-fly zone. You must ensure that your escapades are, for all their daringness, still a better option than listening to you scream.

Needless to say, the meltdown option in always available to you.

This guide is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully it will help inspire you for your next flight. These strategies are designed for long-haul flights; we recommend being a perfect, quiet angel on shorter legs. It’s the most certain way to lull your parents into thinking they can handle a cross-country or even trans-continental jaunt.

Ready? Dive right in …

Pre-flight considerations.

Be ever alert. Threats to your plan abound: unless she still cowers under the watchful eye of screen-time-shamers, your mom will try to bribe you with Daniel Tiger. DO NOT FALL VICTIM. Resist the screen, no matter how intriguing the plot line about how to communicate your food allergies at school. If you play this right, you’ll get that screen time later, at your destination, when her energy and fear of judgment have been obliterated.

She might also have a new toy or snack as a “surprise” for you. Please, mom, that “surprise” is so overdone. Also, spoiler alert, there are way more fun toys to be discovered on a plane.

Moving sidewalks: just one of many exhilarating warmup activities.

Boarding the plane.

When your mom finds your seat, the time is ripe: spill that coffee she purchased knowing the chances of that sweet, sweet caffeine making it into her bloodstream were nearly zero, but which she precariously juggled through the airport and onto the plane along with the diaper bag and the roller bag and your wiggly body and her secret stash of toys and snacks. Make sure to splash that coffee all over neighboring seats, her clothes, and everything she’s carrying, including yourself. She’ll get distracted using up the rest of her baby wipes mopping up coffee and her caffeine-withdrawal tears, and you’ll have time to unload the seat back pockets and distribute the literature, perfectly beaded with stray drops of coffee, to surrounding rows. You’ll probably also have time to finger paint the window with the spilled coffee she hasn’t mopped up yet.

Establish dominance

As the plane is taking off, make as much noise as possible and move as much as possible. You’re setting a precedent here: if you sit quietly now, she’ll have less incentive to tolerate your next move. Unless, of course, you want to nurse, in which case you should make sure to bob back and forth between sides every few seconds so that she is as exposed as possible. Just think, she will be so absorbed in trying to alternately cover each breast, she’ll have reduced capacity to restrain you.

This is an ideal time to let your neighbor know who’s boss: give them a few well-timed kicks and jabs so your mom feels guilty and the neighbor gives her a stink eye.

Get the lay of the land

Focus! Now is not the time to be admiring the view.

Once you’re off the ground, or done nursing, squirm away from your mom and, even if you have literally never crawled in your life because crawling is for babies, army crawl up the aisle, occasionally stopping to turn back and smirk at her. Your coffee-soaked t-shirt will handily collect stray crumbs and hair and other detritus along the aisle. When she tries to pick you up, immediately execute FULL LIMP BODY and scream at the top of your lungs.

Trust me, she’ll let you keep army crawling.

Being on your belly gives you the best access to a few key in-flight amenities: wayward peanuts and other people’s purses. It’s best to casually remove an item or two from each purse you pass, just to deflect your mom from trying to pick you up again. She’ll be so busy handing people their lost pens and phones and slobbery wallets that you’ll be able to make significant progress down the aisle. If you get distracted, remember, follow the trail of peanuts. Especially the honey roasted ones. The “lightly salted” ones are so not worth the effort.

When you get bored with ground-level pursuits, stand up and start walking down the aisle. This step is all about speed and noise. Happy shrieks are less likely to cause interventions but still garner maximum attention from the entire plane.

Make new friends

If the mom hot on your tail looks away for even the tiniest second, to apologize to a stranger or to re-assemble the last purse you unloaded, seize the opportunity: casually lay your hand on the nearest stranger’s thigh, as high up on their inner thigh as you can reach, and gaze intently into their face. Bonus points if the thigh’s owner is asleep.

If their thigh isn’t accessible, try untying their shoe, or putting it in your mouth. Again, sleeping targets are worth the most, both in points and in potential reactions. If you get kicked in the face by a startled-awake shoe-wearer, scream bloody murder, tweet an angry missive to the airline, and make sure it gets captured on video so you can sue later.

Whenever people (ahem, men) express anxiety about pooping in public or in a new place, I have to admit my sympathy is pretty limited.

Pooping anxiety ain’t got nothing on pumping anxiety.

First of all, everyone accepts that people need a place to go to the bathroom. Dedicated places to pump, on the other hand, are few and far between. With pooping, there’s no lugging equipment around. When you find a spot, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be private; the chance (at least in the developed world) that you’ll have to pull out your goods and sit there basically naked for 20 minutes or more is pretty much nonexistent. The only thing you have to wash afterward is your hands. You don’t have to find a way to store your output and keep it on ice.

As a breastfeeding mama who travels quite a bit, and is a travel nomad — meaning I usually am not visiting an office where I can leave my stuff or hide out in a private room with my pump, I’ve had to get creative about where to take care of business.

My lessons learned are definitely not a complete guide to this inevitably stressful situation, but I hope they’ll help if you’re traveling without your baby and need to pump on the go.

What to bring

Your pump. (DUH, I know). But double check that all the pieces are there; I had a pumping emergency when I arrived at our retreat and realized the tubing was missing from my pump. Luckily a fellow mama there let me use hers, and I was able to avoid a true boob emergency.

Pump wipes. You won’t always have access to a place to wash your accessories, so I carry these wipes for on-the-go cleaning. I’m pretty sure they’re just repackaged baby wipes, so you could also just snag some from your LO’s diaper bag rather than buying yet another niche product.

Milk bags. I love these bags for pumping on the go because they take up so much less space in your bag and then cooler. The Medela ones come with little adapters for your pump so you can pump directly into the bags.

Lunchbox or other small cooler. True story: my husband used my pumping needs as an excuse to buy a Yeti, but holy hell that thing is a bear to drag around. I carry a lightweight lunch box cooler with me, and try to transfer to the fridge, freezer, or Yeti as soon as possible. I’m constantly asking for ice from Starbucks or other casual food joints. Most of them will just fill up your cooler if you ask, and not charge you the 10 cents or whatever, especially if the barista is a woman.

What NOT to wear:

Dresses that don’t allow you access to the goods without taking them off. See: my first mother’s day experience. Oh wait, I haven’t told anyone about that except my husband. Maybe I’ll share this mother’s day…

Tops that will show wetness, or that can be stained by breast milk. Sayonara, silk.

Pants that are not forgiving when you sit down. Your midsection is likely to be exposed for at least part of your pumping adventure … so I like to choose pants that, even if they aren’t super flattering on my exposed core, at least don’t exacerbate my mom-pooch and muffin top. (High-rise FTW).

Where to do the deed

Luckily, pumping rooms are becoming more and more frequent, but that doesn’t mean they’re a dime a dozen yet.

A post shared by Alyse Mason Brill (@alysemb) on May 31, 2016 at 3:00pm PDT

Mamava: these handy little pumping pods are popping up at airports everywhere. I first discovered them in Austin, then also found pods in Oakland, CA, and San Francisco. These no-frills, lockable pods provide seating, outlets, and a mirror to help make sure you’ve rearranged yourself without any wardrobe malfunctions. Their app helps you find not only pods but other, user-submitted pumping-friendly locations.

Baby stores: this is a long shot, but if you’re traveling in the burbs, you may have a baby or maternity store nearby, and they often will provide a place for you, suggest other local options, or, at the very least, empathize with your plight. Friendly understanding won’t keep your pressurized boobs from exploding, but it does help lessen your mounting anxiety about said pressure.

When in doubt, just ask… I’ve ended up in random places for meetings, like hospitals, big office buildings, and cafes. You’d be surprised how willing people are to help. Some of them will get really uncomfortable, but I think that just encourages them to come up with a solution faster so they can stop talking about YOUR BREASTS. Ha. Some of the random places I’ve pumped are: in the lunchroom in a big office building, a doctor’s office after hours, the manager’s office in a restaurant, and in empty conference rooms.

Don’t mind me, I’m just awkwardly pumping in this empty lunch room. Also take note of the blanket scarf. My only barrier between my boobs and hordes of hungry office workers.

None of those locations are fun, but they’re doable, and way less gross than a bathroom.

Now, if I could just crack the code of how to travel with a pump and ONLY a carry-on, I would be set. Any tips?

#momlife is all about adjusting to the new normal. Every time you think you have something figured out—like how to get some sleep, how to get some exercise, or what makes the baby happy—everything changes.

A lot of the advice I got about having a child involved concrete skills: breastfeeding advice. Sleep-through-the-night tactics (hah). Babywearing and naptime scheduling. I’m working on all those skills, but above all, being prepared for and adaptable to whatever’s presenting itself RIGHT NOW is the most significant skill I’ve been honing over the last 13 months.

On our ski getaway weekend, I was super proud of myself for preparing for… and then actually hydrating like a boss. Going up to high altitude always leaves me really dehydrated, to the point where my dry mouth wakes me up at night. I took along my Essence pH10 water (and yes, my checked bag definitely got extra security screened as a result) and kept up a rigorous hydration regime. It was the only thing I could control, y’all.

To be honest, I had no idea what alkaline water was when I first met the team at Essence pH10. So, in a nutshell, here ya go:

“Influences such as environmental stresses, medications, processed foods, disease states, conditions of exhaustion, acidic drinks, for example, can weaken the bodies’ homeostatic mechanisms that work to maintain our body’s pH level. An Alkaline environment helps promote optimum health and may help to support a cancer-free life. “

I can get down with that.

Another win from that weekend: Mac got to play in the snow, reducing the cost per wear of her snowsuit by 50%. With special-use baby clothes, that is a BIG DEAL.

Yeah, she was way more interested in this weird patch of snow by the wall than in actual pretty fields of snow. Doesn’t she know I need to take pictures??

Even though we don’t have boots or any kind of snow-appropriate footwear, her feet stayed miraculously dry. Bobux shoes FTW.

Now we’re back at home, back in the warm Austin ‘winter,’ and Mac and I are spending lots of time tooling around town on my bike. And guess what? I’m still hydrating like a boss.

All this hydration has me feeling seriously like I can do anything. And it’s good for Mac, too: since I’m still breastfeeding, I like to think I’m passing on that good health and hydration to her as well.

This post was sponsored by Essence pH10. Opinions are, as always, mine and mine alone. Thank you for supporting the brands who support the sweat pink community!

First off, thank you to all of you for your kind words and support around Tigger’s passing. I confess I felt a little silly admitting to just how much his death derailed me, but Suzi’s story and Shannon’s words were so validating about how grief is grief:

“If you’ve never loved a pup or cat, you might not get it. You might even roll your eyes. But if you HAVE, you will get this.” – Shannon, Badass Fitness

I’m trying to shake it off (oh Taylor, I will never grow tired of singing and dancing in my car to that song), and as part of that, I’ve been consciously focusing on doing things that make me feel amazing. Kind of like a gratitude practice, but with a dash of fabulous.

So – here goes. My #feelamazingeveryday top 5:

1. Swimming

There are few things in life that make me happier than a swim in a beautiful body of water, whether that’s a pool, the ocean, a lake, or … anywhere else. 🙂 This summer has been a boom year for beautiful swimming opportunities, from the beach in Maui:

Beach day essentials.

To Tahoe:

I’ve been trying to swim every day, and I’ve got a pretty good streak going. I just feel so much happier in the water, and also in a much more amazing mood after a good swim. My family benefits from that happiness, too. 😉

2. Slowing down and spending time with my daughter

In a lot of ways, motherhood has been a tough transition for me—more on that to come. I’m making a focused effort to slow down and spend quality time with Mackenzie every day. That means no checking my phone while she babbles at her butterfly mobile; no spacing out and thinking about work while she puts my sunglasses in her mouth for the umpteenth time.

I’m also trying to do at least one dedicated Mactivity per day, like hiking:

Or swim lessons:

3. Morning smoothies

I just recently got on a smoothie kick, and for someone who has been a casual smoothie drinker at best, this bug bit me, hard. It’s lifechanging, y’all.

I’ve been having an Amazing Grass peanut butter smoothie almost every morning. (Okay, probably because it tastes like dessert, but there’s no crash after).

I’ve also been traveling with the single serving packets. Of all the protein powders I’ve tried, this is one that holds up under dire preparation circumstances. As in, it still tastes good even if all you do is add water and give it as good a mixing as you’re able to, given the tools available (coffee stir stick in the hotel room, anyone?).

Anything is possible when you’re doublefisting Amazing Grass and Philz.

4. Creeping on other people’s dogs

Yep, I have been stopping just about everyone I see with a cute pup just to pet and chat. It’s good for the soul. I want a dog so badly, but know that (a) I need to give myself some time, and (b) getting a puppy is a terrible idea right now. We’re still working on getting settled in with this human puppy.

5. Getting a tattoo?

Okay, this one is entirely speculative. I’m thinking about my first ink. But I’m a total chicken. Should I do it?!

This post was sponsored by Amazing Grass. I’m so grateful to the brands who support the Sweat Pink community… and especially for the theme of #feelamazingeveryday. It was the perfect push for me to change my mindset from, wahhh, I miss my dog, to “what can I do today to feel amazing?”

I’ve been doing a ton of traveling lately. In less than three weeks, I bounced around between 5 different cities on the west coast without a single stop at home.

There was the wedding in Monterey:

A work meeting in San Francisco:

Obviously, this is not my actual meeting…

Thanksgiving in Tahoe:

A visit in Sacramento:

And studio prep in Portland.

Not too shabby an itinerary, eh? Luckily, I did the long hauls via plane; I’ve found that more than two hours in the car puts my back and body into a cranky, stiff, whiny funk, so I’ve opted out of as much driving as possible. Even so, all the air travel and the changes in elevation and the new environments take their toll, especially since with each city, this baby bump just. gets. bigger.

(Also, my face keeps getting puffier. As do my cankles. The zippers on my boots are at half mast, and I had to order a new pair of sneakers, 2 sizes larger than my go-to Converse).

What’s a girl to do when her cankles outgrow her calves?

Well, pack some snacks, naturally.

All the snacks. I am the crazy snack lady on the plane who does nothing but respond to emails and eat snacks.

Luckily, I’ve yet to get sick or suffer any real repercussions from all this travel and airport time. I attribute it to (a) all the snacks, especially the vitamin C-packed mandarins I’ve been inhaling, (b) obsessively washing my hands, (c) avoiding plane bathrooms as much as (pregnantly) humanly possible, and (d) staying really well hydrated. I’m kind of wrapped up and in love with SOS’s recovery drink right now. Even though it’s intended for exercise or hangover recovery, I’ve been using it as prevention and recovery for my generally compromised immune system. It’s also a nice way to hydrate that is not water (boring!), coconut water (gross!), or Gatorade (those chemicals can’t be good for Moonshine!). The mango flavor is bomb.com and since it’s a powder, you can take on an airplane or anywhere else you go.

There’s so much packed into my purse already it’s hard to imagine just how much I’ll be lugging around when she’s actually here and has her own independent needs. I guess I’m just practicing the mom thing already.